Posted: April 28, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Management

Last week I was talking with a business owner who operated several franchises in the Chicago area.  She wanted to do some teamwork training, and when she went to her Controller, he talked her out of it.  He said, “Look, our numbers our fine.  Sales are where they need to be, and we are making a profit”.  That was his whole argument.  Here is what he did not pay attention to:

• The employee turnover rate was 20% above the industry average.
• The absenteeism was up 40% over last year.
• Their district supervisor referred to the store managers as a “bunch of dummies”.

Most of us would say that these symptoms are not good, and very costly.  We wouldn’t have to be brilliant to predict that this company is headed for trouble.  Eventually, the sales numbers will go down, and by that time, the river may be too wide for crossing.Read More…

Posted: March 7, 2017 | Categories: Management

I am hired by companies to help build top-performing teams.  One of the biggest challenges a manager faces is keeping team members accountable for results.  If ownership is established and roles and expectations are clear, we must insist on each team member delivering desired results.  I find that managers often fall short in this area. Read More…

Posted: February 7, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

“If I asked people what they wanted, they would say they wanted a better horse” -Henry Ford

Last month I was meeting with a client who had a big problem:  His business was growing too fast.  He had built his success by giving excellent service and managing relationships well.  Now all that was at risk.  Things were slipping through the cracks, important details were getting overlooked, and his team was “dropping the ball” far too often.

When a situation like this occurs, it is important to define the problem so that we come up with the right solution.Read More…

Posted: October 25, 2016 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

In this virtual world of high tech and social media, it is easy to be seduced into the mindset that an “in-person” conversation is getting a little old fashioned.  It isn’t!  Whether selling, leading, or parenting, there is no substitute for a quality face-to-face conversation.  I am vividly reminded of this almost every day.Read More…

Posted: June 17, 2016 | Categories: Leadership, Management

Good communication is important.  One of the biggest frustrations I hear when coaching teams pertains to interruptions.  We all know the feeling.  We are trying to express something, we have a train of thought going, and zap!  We get interrupted.  When this happens, we begin to wonder if the other person is truly trying to listen and understand what we are saying.  Is there an antidote to this situation?  There might be.  Consider framing your discussion.  Here is how it works:Read More…